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Forget the cynical doubts and enjoy the day

Rod Liddle marvels at the way British pop music has captured the world

CLICK! In the next three seconds, somewhere in the world, an ingenuous pop star or maybe a dippy actress or a sententious comedian will harangue you about Third World debt. Click! There goes Rachel Stevens right now, the minxily poptastic babe who also, by the way, wishes to raise your awareness of testicular cancer.

All the top-of-the-bill performers at Live 8 have at least two burning issues about which they know sort of nothing: Africa and something else. So, just for Rach, worry about Africa for a bit and then put your hand down and check for lumps.

Click, move on! It’s Eddie Izzard now, emphasising the seriousness of the whole business by being dressed, most unfamiliarly, as a man. Click! Uh-oh, duck and cover, it’s Sir Bob and Bono. Again.

It doesn’t have to be this way, you know? As individuals we may be bereft and impotent, but together